William donald mitchell



N'0.,748,631. PATENTED JAN. 5, 1904.

W. D. MITCHELL.

COMBINATION CREDIT FILE.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 22, 1902 H0 MODEL.

IIIIITIIIIIIiiIiFiFF" UNITED STATES Patented January 5, 1904.

WILLIAM DONALD MITCHELL, OF TORONTO, CANADA.

COMBINATION CREDIT-FILE.

SIEECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 748,631, dated January 5, 1904.

Application filed November 22, 1902. Serial No. 132,435. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knowuthat 1, WILLIAM DONALD MITCHELL, commercial traveler, of the city of Toronto, in the county of York, in the Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improveanentsin Oombination Credit-Files, of which the following is the specification.

My invention relates to improvements in combination credit-files; and the object of the invention is to produce an extremely simple device of this class which will do away with complicated bookkeeping and the use of books, and yet provide a simple and effect ual means of keeping track of all the transactions of a credit business, which will be easy of reference, in which the balance due at any time may be readily ascertained, and in which statements may be quickly rendered; and it consists, essentially,of a folder havingasingle fold, the outer side of the folder being provided with a pocket and a loose ledger-leaf on one half and a preferably transparent pocket to contain duplicates on the other half, and the otherside orinterior of the folder being provided with a pocket and statement held therein, the parts being otherwise arranged and constructed in detail, as hereinafter more particularly explained.

Figure l is a perspective view of the folder, showing the side provided with a transparent face-pocket to contain the duplicates from a counter check-book. Fig. 2 is a view showing the loose ledger-leaf held in the corner pockets. Fig. 3 is a view showing the folder open. Fig. 4 is a cross-section through Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail showing the interior of the folder with the statement-sheets in place.

In the drawings like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

A is the folder, which is made of leather or paper, as may be desired, and has a central bend a, upon which it is folded in the position, as shown in Fig. 1.

A is a transparent outer side of the pocket to contain the duplicates from a counter check-book. Such side A is made of transparent celluloid, tracing-paper, or any other suitable transparent or semitransparent material, the object being to enable the merchant to see at any time the items of the loose duplicates in said pocket. The edge of the transparent sheet forming the pocket is held in by the inturned sides a, which are suitably sewed or otherwise fastened to the edge of such sheet.

0. represents slits made in the folder A on the opposite half of the outside or cover, such slits forming pockets within which are held the corners of the ledger-sheet A which is thus securely held in position.

Although I show the pockets at with the loose-leaf ledger-sheet held therein as the preferable form, it will of course be understood that the ledger-sheet in simple business accounts may be ruled on this half of the cover.

On reference to Fig. 5 it will be seen that I show statemen t-sheets A the head of which is held within a pocket a at one side, the bottom of the statement-sheets being held in slits a diagonally placed and forming pockets. It will of course be understood that the statements are loosely held in the pockets a and a similarly to that in which the ledger sheet A is held in the pockets a When a transaction takes place, the items in the transaction are in the usual manner inserted on the counter check-book and the duplicate is placed in the pocket a, and the totals thereof may be then placed on the ledger-sheet, as indicated in the drawings, in which several items are shown, the last three corresponding to the last three totals on the loose duplicate sheets, which are the uppermost sheets in the pocket a. It will also be noticed that the totals may be placed on the statement in rotation, the two totals appearing at the bottom of the statement A being shown in Fig. 5. Beneath these totals appear on a subsequent date a credit of five dollars, which is preferably written in different ink, leaving a balance of one dollar and forty-one cents. It will be seen from this simple arrangement that a business transaction of a merchant may be entered up right away, and that the statement will be ready for the purchaser at any time, and yet the complete record of the transaction remains in the hand of such merchant.

The advantages of my system may be grouped under three heads-viz., the advantages of the duplicate file, the advantages of the ledger, and the advantages of the state- IOC ment. As to the advantages of the duplicate file, it may be said that such file is perpetual. All dead matter, such as accounts paid, may be early discarded without the interference of running accounts. The ordinary orders may be kept in the smallest place. A simple and easy method of reference is provided, and all customers orders are brought together in a very simple manner. The first order is as easy of reference as the last.

Another important advantage is that by the use of the pocket the necessity of having check-numbers is dispensed with.

As to the ledger-sheet, which is combined with the duplicate sheet, it may be said that such sheet does away with the necessity of writing up book and page numbers for reference. It also saves time in transferring fromone book to another. It dispenses with the making of carbon copies of statements and the ite'mizing of a ledger or the necessity of a day-book. It dispenses with all forms of bound books used in keeping a record of a credit business and provides an easy method of keeping accounts all totaled to date. fact it is' perpetual.

Thearrangeinent of the statement in the cabinet and. brought together as described with the order-file and ledger has the following advantagesviz., it does away with the statement-binders and their index, it enables the merchant to have the statement at all times for the customer, which is of much importanceto both merchant and customer, and prevents waste of time.

As my. file is simply a folder and of one sheet, it is reduced to a small size and may be filed in a small space.

Generally the advantages may be stated as follows: My combination credit-file does away with the necessity of referring fromone book to another,dispenses with the keeping ofsheet or book form indexes or any alphabetical arrangement except for the different accounts themselves, enables one index to refer to all customers accounts, past or present, and it is a day-book, a ledger, and a statement all in one.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. A combination credit-file holder comprising a folded sheet having means on its inner side to hold a statement-sheet in extended form to cover substantially both halves of the inner side and havinga pocket extending over one half of the outer side and means on the other half of the outer side for holding a ledger-sheet, substantially as described.

2. A combination credit-file comprising a folder having one half of the outside provided with a transparent-faced pocket to contain the duplicates of check-books and the other half provided with a ledger-sheet and the interior or opposite side of the folder arranged to receive a statement-sheet suitably held thereon, substantially as described.

3. A combination credit-file holder com prising a folded sheet having a pocket at one end of the inside of the folder to receive one end of the statement-sheet and corner-slots at the opposite end of the sheet to receive the opposite end of the statement-sheet, a pocket extending across one half of the outside of the folder to contain the duplicates and the other half of the outside of the folder being provided with corner-slots to receive the corners of the ledger-sheets as and for the purpose specified.

4. A combination credit-file holder comprising a folded sheet having a pocket at one end of the inside of the folder to receive one end of the statement-sheet and corner-slots at the opposite end of the sheet to receive the opposite end of the statement-sheet and a pocket extending across one half of the outside of the folder to contain the duplicates as and for the purpose specified.

5. A com bination credit-file holder comprising a folded sheet of paper having a pocket at one end of the inside of the folder to receive one end of the statement-sheet, and cornerslots at the opposite end of the sheet to receive the opposite end of the statement-sheet, a pocket extending across one half of the outside of the folder to contain the duplicates and the other half of the outside of the folder being provided with corner-slots to receive the corners of theledger-sheet as specified.

Witnesses:

M. MCLAREN, B. BOYD. 

